Alumni Success

Explore the diversity of our Alumni careers, to learn what a Juris Doctor degree can provide. One Degree. A World of Option.

Jodie Howard - Class of 2019 - Director, BREN Clinic, San Joaquin College of Law

Jodie tried for many years to get the services she felt her son, Bren, needed for his autism. There was no lawyer in the San Joaquin Valley area advocating for children with special needs and their families. So, Jodie educated herself, wrote a book about the law and advocacy, and conducted trainings for families, therapists and administrators starting in Fall of 2018. At the same time, Jodie was attending law school. She graduated in May of 2019 and has just passed the bar exam.

In fall of 2019, the BREN Clinic opened.

  • B – Bolster partnerships between families and schools.
  • R – Reform special education services within communities.
  • E – Empower families and individuals to self-advocate.
  • N – Network Peer to Peer

The Clinic was made possible by a generous grant from GRAND, “Growing Resources for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorders,” a private organization supporting special education children and families. Jodie had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, caring for Bren. Law school looked a bit intimidating, but she loved “my brain being engaged in a totally new way.” She graduated Valedictorian of the Class of 2019.

Hall of Fame image

Extensive and Diverse Alumni Network

Our success can be seen in the extraordinary achievements of our graduates in bar passage rates and dynamic careers. San Joaquin College of Law graduates serve as District Attorneys, Superior Court judges, court commissioners, administrative law judges, general counsel of large corporations, in-house counsel to agricultural enterprises, and much more. Alumni have benefitted from launching their careers in a region where the population is growing and the prospect of getting into a prominent position quickly is proven higher. If a graduate desires to leave the Valley, he or she is in a strategic position to make a lateral move to a city of their choice or obtain a leadership position nationally or internationally.

More than 30% of the practicing lawyers in the Fresno-Clovis area are SJCL graduates. Of the women lawyers in the area, nearly 44% are SJCL graduates. More than 37% of the minority lawyers are graduates.

Careers of SJCL Alumni in the Area Include

  • Administrative Law Judge
  • Baker, Manock & Jensen
  • Bankruptcy Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • California State Assistant Attorney General
  • Centex Homes In-House Counsel
  • Children’s Hospital of Central California Counsel
  • City Attorney
  • County Counsel
  • District Attorney
  • Dowling Aaron
  • Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
  • McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth
  • Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • Member, Fresno County Board of Supervisors
  • Pappas Telecasting, Special Counsel & Vice President
  • Private Practitioners in every area of practice
  • Public Defender
  • Saint Agnes Medical Center Counsel
  • Superior Court Commissioner
  • Superior Court Judge
  • Research Attorney, Fifth District Court of Appeal
  • Research Attorney, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • Trinity Fruit In-House Counsel

Careers of SJCL Alumni Outside the Area Include

  • California Environmental Protection Agency, Deputy Director
  • California Secretary of Health & Human Services
  • California State Water Resources Control Board, Member & Chair
  • Chevron Human Resource Manager, Asia south Business Unit, Thailand
  • Chief of Staff for California State Assemblyman
  • Contra Costa County Court Commissioner
  • Delta Dental, In-House Counsel, San Francisco
  • Glenn County Superior Court Judge
  • Honeywell Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Monterey County Superior Court Judge
  • Nevada Care Counsel & CEO
  • Point Loma Nazarene University, Fermanian Business Center Director
  • San Francisco Assistant City Attorney
  • San Luis Obispo County Court Commissioner
  • Santa Barbara County Counsel
  • TelePacific Communications Corp, Assistant General Counsel, Nevada
  • U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Washington, D.C.
  • Wells Fargo Bank, Trust Counsel, North Carolina